Burke, Arthur Laurie (1887-after 1916)

Arthur Laurie Burke was a salesman for the London and Lancashire Life and General Assurance Association. He lived at 2047 Pendrell Street in 1913.

Arthur was born on June 4, 1887, in Murree, India, which is now in Pakistan. His father was Captain John Hawley Burke, of the West Yorkshire Regiment.

Captain Burke was born in Ireland about 1855. After going to school, he became a lieutenant in the British military. By 1885, he was in India, where he married Mary Alice Riddell (about 1865-1951). Captain Burke died on October 24, 1887, in Rajanpur Mooltan, India.

Arthur was christened in Murree on August 1, 1887.

In 1911, Arthur and his brother, Noel Hawley Michael Burke (1886-1960), were living with their mother, Mary, at 43 St. Dunstan’s Road in London.

In 1912, Noel was still in on St. Dunstan’s Road, but Arthur was not there. In 1912, Noel married Mildred Ethel Finlay. Noel was later involved in medical research and treatment. In 1954, he appeared on the list of Order of the British Empire honorees for the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Arthur appears to have arrived in Vancouver in 1911. He was living in 1913. He was a salesman for the London and Lancashire Life and General Assurance Association. He lived at 2047 Pendrell Street.

Arthur did not appear in the 1914 and 1915 Vancouver directories. However, Mrs. Mary A. Burke, who may be Arthur’s mother, was the proprietor of the Old Country Tea Rooms at 641 Granville Street; her residence was also 641 Granville Street.

By 1916, Mary was no longer in the Vancouver directories. The tea shop was now called Granville Hall Tea Rooms; the manager was Thomas Wordsworth Gavin Blackburn (1872-1970), who was also an agent for the B.C. Life Assurance Company. By 1920, the business was called “Old Country Lunch and Tea Rooms”; George E. Cassidy was the proprietor.

In July 1916, Arthur enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the First World War. Both he and his mother were living in apartment 12 of the Simpson Block, which was at the northeast corner of David Street and Denman Street. He later became a second lieutenant in the Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire Regiment).

No further information is available at this time for Arthur or for other members of his family.

Sources

John Hawley Burke (father of Arthur Laurie Burke)

Some of the Irish indexes refer to events as taking place in Ireland. The place names, however, are almost certainly in what was then India.

Mary Alice Riddell, F, #558981, http://thepeerage.com/p55899.htm: “Mary Alice Riddell is the daughter of Henry Vansittart Riddell and Alice Anne Attwood.2 She married Captain John Hawley Burke on 17 February 1885. . . . Her married name became Burke. In 1890 married 2nd John Burke. On 18 April 1951 died further issue.”

Upcoming marriage announcement, Noel Hawley Michael Burke, elder son of the late Captain J. Hawley Burke, London Standard, Thursday, December 19, 1912, page 11; http://newspaperarchive.com/uk/middlesex/london/london-standard/1912/12-19/page-11: “The marriage will take place quietly at Bournemouth on February 3 of Mr. Noel Hawley Michael Burke, elder son of the late Captain J. Hawley Burke, West Yorkshire Regiment, and of Ballydugan, co. Galway, and Mildred Ethel, second daughter of the late Mr. R.E. Finlay, of 17, Craven-hill gardens, and Mrs. Finlay, of Burwood glen, Bournemouth.”

University of Cambridge, Examination for Diploma in Medical Radiology and Electrology, July, 1927. The following Candidates have satisfied the Examiners in Part II: . . . Burke, Noel Hawley Michael . . .”

1954 Birthday Honours, Wikipedia article, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_Birthday_Honours: “The Queen’s Birthday Honours 1954 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The Queen. . . . Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Civil Division . . . Noel Hawley Michael Burke, MRCS, LRCP, Lately Medical Superintendent, Cell Barnes Hospital, St. Albans.”